Maybelline Red Relic

Hello! I don’t know about you, but I was SO excited for the fall Maybelline polishes to come out. They’re called “Vintage Leather”, so they dry matte and have flakies in them. This gives the nails a bit of a “distressed” look, but it’s not totally textured either.

Red Relic is quite bright. I was actually surprised at how bright it is, and also how sheer it is. I’m wearing three coats above and you can still see some nail line. That doesn’t bother me though. The formula actually went on nicely. The flakies didn’t catch or pose a problem, and the distressed look is very subtle. I love the matte finish, too!

Did you pick up any of the fall collection from Maybelline?

OPI Dining Al Frisco

Today’s polish is one from the new OPI San Francisco collection! This color didn’t really catch my eye at first, but I picked it up during my huge OPI haul from when Trade Secret went out of business. I’m really glad that I did, because this is so much prettier than it seems in the bottle!

Dining Al Frisco is a sky blue metallic shade with subtle silver shimmer. This blue is unique to me, and the formula is excellent. You can get away with just one coat of this shade! It also has a bit of a “glow” to it. When I’m wearing it, I can’t stop looking at it. I’ve actually worn this twice already in the short while that I’ve had it!

This is definitely a surprising showstopper for me. 🙂

Deborah Lippmann Glitter and Be Gay

Glitter and Be Gay is a new polish from Deborah Lippmann’s Jewel Heist collection. WOW. If you haven’t seen this collection, definitely check it out! It is so incredibly gorgeous, full of sparkle and shine! Described as “candescent canary yellow glitter”, it is just so much more than that. Basically it is a jumble of multi-colored holographic glitters, with gold being the prominent color.

I layered it over OPI Goldeneye and could not stop staring at my nails! I will say that most of the photos I’ve seen online don’t do it justice either. It is a must see in person, especially in sunlight if you can!

In case you are curious about the name of this nail polish, it is from Candide (an operetta). All Deborah Lippmann polishes are named after songs. You can see Kristin Chenoweth performing “Glitter and Be Gay” here! I love opera music, so I couldn’t help but share that tidbit. 🙂

Illamasqua Raindrops

Dun dun dun….it feels like this nail polish needs some kind of grand entrance. This is a HUGE polish cult classic, and when I heard Raindrops was coming back from Illamasqua, I stalked the Sephora website CONSTANTLY! So, is it worth the hype?

I believe that this is totally worth the hype if it is your type of color. While it is very sheer, the finish is just so pretty! I used three coats and love how delicate it is. The white/silvery flakes are subtle, but have a hint of sparkle.

Quality wise, this is definitely typical Illamasqua formula in that it is simply amazing. I don’t have anything like Raindrops and surprisingly, can’t think of any dupes!

Models Own Aqua Violet

One of my friends is a nanny, and she had been traveling all over the world with “her” baby’s family. She went to London and was so kind to pick up this nail polish for me: Models Own Aqua Violet! This is from the Beetlejuice collection of duochromes. Due to the lighting I did not have the best luck capturing the color shift here, and it is also quite subtle. Like the name implies, it is a blue to violet color shift.

This shade is quite sheer on the first coat, but in three you’re good to go. I also could not help myself and added some more sparkle to the mix with OPI’s Crown Me Already. 🙂

I think this is a great color and see myself wearing it a lot this fall and winter!

Sinful Colors Blue Suede Shoes

I mentioned Sinful Colors Blue Suede Shoes in my budget polish picks for fall. I really like these Sinful Shine formula polishes. These are a little thicker and more opaque, and have a bit more shine than the original formula. They also cost a dollar more.

Blue Suede Shoes is a dusty, muted blue. I love this color; it’s such a classic “Americana” type color. I paired it with Orly Halo since I’ve been on a sparkle kick lately! This polish is opaque in one coat, but I used two thin coats out of habit!

Have you tried the Sinful Shine line, and did you notice any differences?

HUGE OPI Haul!

Hello! I haven’t posted in a few days due to being out of town and having a lot to catch up on! I’m back now with a huge OPI polish haul. Sadly, a local salon chain went bankrupt and everything in their stores is 75% off right now. I genuinely feel terrible for the company and the people that work there. One of the employees told me that people just aren’t coming to salons and buying the products anymore, which I thought was sad. I actually often purchased polish from this store (Trade Secret) because they always had new OPI collections before other places locally.

While I did get a couple of conditioners for my hair, I HAD to share my huge OPI haul. It was only $2.25 per bottle, so I admit, I did go a little crazy. I also purchased some gifts, which are not seen here of course! Let’s start with the boring stuff: OPI Expert Touch lint free nail wipes and a tiny bottle of their polish remover, which I’ve never tried, pictured above. Now, onto the polish!

Live and Let Die, In My Back Pocket, Die Another Day, and Green-wich Village

Ski Teal We Drop, Unfor-Greta-Bly Blue, German-icure by OPI, and Dining Al Frisco

Sweet Heart, Chocolate Moose, Uh Oh, Roll Down the Window, and Bubble Bath (I have a mini of this so I’m excited to have the full size!)

Two bottles of Ridge Filler (love this stuff), Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow, and Solitaire (a back up)

I just realized that I forgot to photograph one shade, and that is another liquid sand color, Vesper (another Bond Girls shade). I actually went to two locations for these shades. One store had a lot more polish than the other, and a better shade variety. They also had some China Glaze textured polishes, but I wasn’t really interested in those after seeing swatches online.

It looks like I have a lot of swatching to do!

OPI Alpine Snow

Alpine Snow is one of the more famous white shades out there, and another cult classic from OPI. This polish is perfectly named! It is very crisp and white. It is definitely a stark white. Personally, I love white polish and love how bright this one is. I could not stop staring at my nails when I had this on!

Since this is white, it was a bit streaky on the first application. I ended up using three coats, though I’ve read that other people have had luck with two. This is a great white for layering as a base for glitters and other top coats.

This doesn’t top my all-time favorite white (My Boyfriend Scales Walls, also by OPI), but this is definitely up there, maybe even in second place! 🙂

What are your favorite white polishes?

 

China Glaze Snap My Dragon

Snap My Dragon is a shade from the Avant Garden collection by China Glaze. I remember seeing this collection on a few blogs and it didn’t really catch my attention until I saw it in person at Sally’s. By then it was on super clearance and I picked up a few shades, including this one. You NEED this polish if you love pink like I do. This color is incredible!

This shade is a glowy, pink red; kind of a raspberry type shade. This is just one coat, and it dries quickly, too! This might be one of my favorite colors of the year. It is a polish I would back up for sure! I haven’t tried this with White Cap over it yet, but I’m thinking it would look amazing.

What do you think of this shade? I just love those polishes that look lit from within.

OPI What Wizardry Is This?

I am loving the OPI liquid sand polishes. If you aren’t familiar with these yet, they dry to a gritty, matte finish. I love all of the ones that I have so far! What Wizardry Is This? is from the Oz collection that came out with the movie. My photos really don’t do this polish any justice!

This shade is a deep bronze with gold shimmer; it is actually a bit more complicated than that as there seem to be some greenish tones as well. This went on so nicely, as the other liquid sands have. I used two coats and it dried quickly; not only that, it’s super easy to remove. On the nails it really sparkles, but this isn’t really shining through in my swatches.

This is definitely a great shade for fall, too! I am a bit sentimental about this shade because of the movie, so if you’re a huge Oz fanatic like i am, definitely pick this up!